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It is notoriously difficult to predict what’s going to happen with new technologies. However, being able to do so is of uttermost importance in the transport sector. Behavioural Economics, if applied correctly, can help in this almost impossible quest of predicting the speed of adoption of new technology. To illustrate this, we use two very different types of technology, Uber and Electric Vehicles.

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are often viewed as the ideal solution for governments balancing limited budgets and growing infrastructure demands. However, as the failure of some high-profile toll-highway PPPs illustrates, implementing such projects is often not as straightforward as many governments envision. One of the most common factors contributing to these failures is traffic volumes that turn out to be significantly different from what was originally forecast.

A phrase much used in the alternative fuels industry is the ‘chicken and egg problem’. Without demand for recharging and refuelling alternative-fuel vehicles there is no case for investment in infrastructure; but without infrastructure to recharge/refuel them, most people will not buy alternative fuelled vehicles. There is a solution to this problem, but it requires action from both the public and private sectors, new and innovative business models, and perhaps most importantly a long-term approach.

The last decade has been difficult for transport infrastructure providers. After years of reliable growth, motorway traffic fell or remained static, after the 2008 financial crisis. Traffic through airports, railways and even ferries also suffered.

However, it seems that across Europe the market has stabilised, and we are again seeing progressive traffic recovery and growth. In response, there is a growing appetite for investment in the sector through new PPP schemes, and specially through secondary sales/acquisitions and refinancing.